In Photoshop CS3 you have the ability to use Smart Filters. Your layer turns into a Smart Object first and then when you apply filters to it you can modify them over and over, because they are non-destructive.

The moment of truth is finally here! I’m ready to announce who is in for a prize. This wasn’t easy, as you’ve seen in my previous post there are a lot of great entries in this pool. I’ve picked a bunch of favorites let them rest for a bit and came back to them and made my final decision.

What a remarkable journey it has been! The What is Graphic Design poster competition by far surpassed anything that I had in mind. So many people entered and I really wish I could reward everybody. It’s unbelievable how many people have been using the creative parts of their brain. That was my intention from the get go.

It’s big, it’s heavy (3KG) and it’s yellow, what is it? It’s FontShop’s FontBook, an invaluable reference tool. I’m not 100% sure but I think it’s the largest type reference in the world. This is the 4th edition since it was first published in 1991. The FontBook 2006 edition was edited by Erik Spiekermann, Jürgen Siebert and Mai-Linh Thi Truong and it replaced the 1998 edition. I had the pleasure to ask a few things about it to Yves Peters from FontShop.be.

Sometimes it’s needed to go look in odd places to find inspiration. Take patterns for example, often used for backgrounds etc. There is a bit of a trend in interior design at the moment with the revival of the vintage wallpaper backgrounds from the sixties & seventies.

Are you ready for some creativity? I hope you are because it’s finally time for my previously announced What is Graphic Design Poster Competition. Sharpen your pencils and let those creative juices boil until you come up with a unique concept. I’ve waited a bit longer to start this as I got a few requests from people that are off skiing this week and wanted to join. Now you can submit your poster untill February 15th.